§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of the(a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which she has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129844]
§ Mr. StringerSince I May 1997, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office has appointed (or re-appointed) 90 men and 68 women to serve on the boards of non-departmental public bodies. Of these, 21 men (72 per cent.) and eight women (28 per cent.) were appointed to paid posts and 69 men (53 per cent.) and 60 women (47 per cent.) were appointed to unpaid posts.
In addition, my noble Friend, Baroness Jay, the Minister for Women has appointed 16 women to serve on the Women's National Commission. Of these, one is a paid post.
This Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plans, together with the Government's overall plan, were published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos: Opening up Public Appointments 2000–2003", copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.